Sunday, December 9, 2007

Mr. and Mrs. Williams
Sue and Jim Williams celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary at a family party hosted by their children: Ronnie Williams of Bushland, Debbie Croft of Amarillo and Tammy Halencak of Canyon.

New V-22 Osprey limits issued
The Navy has issued new V-22 Osprey flight restrictions linked to a recent North Carolina aircraft fire, but combat Ospreys have been equipped with special kits to help avoid any potential problems.

Unemployment rate holds steady
WASHINGTON - Employers added a solid 94,000 jobs to their payrolls in November, the unemployment rate held steady at 4.7 percent and wages grew briskly, encouraging signs the nation's employment climate is holding up in the face of turbulence in the housing and credit markets

Wall Street pauses from big rally
NEW YORK - Wall Street paused from its big rally Friday, with stocks closing narrowly mixed after the government's November labor report showed tepid job growth as well as a pickup in inflation.

Rehabbers take a gamble
MAPLE HEIGHTS, Ohio - After the unpaid mortgage bills, the creditor warnings and finally the sheriff's sale, it's sometimes left to a handyman like Adrian Brad to clean up the mess left by the nation's home foreclosure crisis.

New CEO for Dow Jones named
NEW YORK - Rupert Murdoch shook up several top management roles at his media empire Friday, naming a new CEO of Dow Jones & Co. and elevating his son James to a senior position within News Corp. that clearly puts him in line to succeed his father.

Forbidden dreams
CAIRO, Egypt - Muna el-Leboudy, a 22-year-old medical student, had a terrible secret: She wanted to be a filmmaker. The way she understood her Muslim faith, it was haram - forbidden - to dabble in movies, music or any art that might pique sexual desires.

James Hallmark: Winter holidays emphasize home, comfort and love
As a college student who attended a university hundreds of miles from home, the time from Thanksgiving to Christmas became my favorite. Thanksgiving and Christmas meant "being home." It meant the smell of mom's cooking, grandma and grandpa coming in for the holidays, and watching great family movies like "White Christmas" and "Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer." ("A Christmas Story" had not yet been released, or it too would have made the list!)

Dear Abby: 'Perfect' man a cheater
Dear Abby: I was the other woman for seven years, involved with a man I thought was perfect. His wife knew about me. It was never an issue until he fell in love with me. After that, things changed. He began making promises and told me as soon as his wife got herself together and found a job and a place to live, he'd divorce her and be with me forever.

Dr. Gott: Home cures can work wonders on psoriasis
Dear Dr. Gott: Several years ago, my husband had psoriasis in his hair, eyebrows and across his forehead. I heard somewhere that T-Gel Shampoo by Neutrogena would get rid of it, so I got him some. Well, it worked! He has been completely free of the problem for years.

Test your knowledge of yuletide TV specials
For generations, the young and young at heart have spent the weeks leading up to Christmas with cocoa cooling and a holiday special on the tube. Many of the iconic images of the season - an animated Rudolph with his nose so bright, Frosty's magic hat, the Whos down in Whoville - are the direct result of holiday television specials. But how much do you really know, really remember? Here's a chance to test your holiday special knowledge.

Network holiday programming a tradition
Holiday programming is in full swing, and even with the writer's strike, the networks have their schedules loaded with specials, movies and other perennial holiday fare. Among the highlights:

In the Service
Army PFC Hunter Peters has graduated from basic training at Fort Jackson, S.C. He is the son of Ronnie Peters and the grandson of Mary Peters. Peters is a 2005 graduate of Caprock High School.

Artesia blitzes Goddard for N.M. 4A crown
ARTESIA, N.M. - Artesia quarterback Landry Jones threw seven touchdown passes Saturday to lead the Bulldogs to a 58-31 win against Roswell Goddard for the second straight year, taking their record 26th New Mexico football championship in Class 4A.

Another opportunity
After being eliminated from the playoffs by Idalou the past two seasons, the Canadian Wildcats are taking the field for today's state quarterfinal game hoping the third time is the charm.

Clovis' Roanhaus proud of his squad
CLOVIS, N.M. - Clovis football coach Eric Roanhaus had much on his mind on Saturday, regarding his sons. Chad Roanhaus, coach at Las Vegas Robertson, was seeing his team fall in the New Mexico Class 3A championship, 27-6, to St. Michael's while dad walked the sidelines in Santa Fe.

No. 1 Canyon rips Caprock
Brittany Hampton scored six points off three successive third-quarter turnovers - two she created - and Canyon outscored Caprock, 22-2, on its way to a 70-31 nondistrict win Friday night before 250 fans in the Canyon High School gym.

AHS' Pylant excels on, off the court
Amarillo High reached the summit of Texas high school volleyball again this season, winning the Class 5A state championship for the second straight year.

Gorillas fall, 6-3, at Oklahoma City
The Amarillo Gorillas still are looking for their first road win of the season after losing, 6-3, to the Oklahoma City Blazers on Friday night in Oklahoma City.

Area cowboys Reeves, Smith notch NFR wins
The Texas Panhandle hit the jackpot Friday night in Las Vegas when Pampa's Matt Reeves and Childress' Stran Smith each won events in the second go of the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in the Thomas and Mack Center.

NFR rookie tops two bareback records
LAS VEGAS - Justin McDaniel broke the National Finals Rodeo and Thomas & Mack Center arena bareback record Saturday night with a 91.5-point ride on Delta Ship in the third round of the season-ending event.

Ready to rock out
Sadie Castro and Sarah Jefferson of Amarillo listen to the music of punk band Hos Mon Sori on Friday at the United Through Diversity: Brian Deneke Memorial event at the Nat Ballroom.
The event honors the memory of Deneke, who was killed during a confrontation between different social groups in the parking lot of Western Plaza on Dec. 12, 1997.

Winter moves into area
A cold front inched its way into the Tri-State area, dumping a wintry mix of fog and freezing precipitation on roads and highways across large portions of the region. An Amarillo man was injured when his car went out of control on ice in Oklahoma.

School cited as pure 'gold'
William B. Travis Middle School received its first gold performance acknowledgement from the Texas Education Agency this year for a one-year improvement in math performance on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills.

Prairie fire probe continues
The fire that burned about 500 acres of undeveloped land and a barn west of Soncy Road and north of Amarillo Boulevard still is under investigation, Potter County Fire-Rescue Chief Richard Lake said.

Jon Mark Beilue: What one person can do
Truthfully, if Cindy Kelleher didn't continue preparing a Christmas dinner for the blind each year, they would adjust. For the blind, their whole lives are ones of adjustment.

1 injured in fire
A woman was taken to Northwest Texas Hospital in critical condition after she was rescued by family members from a house fire in the 900 block of South Virginia.

Dallas set to clinch
DETROIT - The Cowboys can cross off a couple items on their to-do list in Detroit. They can clinch the NFC East and shut up Jon Kitna.

'Boys haven't forgotten what Kitna said
Being a man of deep faith, Detroit's Jon Kitna credited the "hand of God" with healing his concussion and enabling him to go back into a September game and defeat the Minnesota Vikings.

Cowboys make a move
DALLAS - The schedule will say the opponent is the Lions, the Eagles, the Panthers, the Redskins. That's not really the case.

Thinking Out Loud
Do you want to know why it's so hard for members of Congress to become president? Because running for the highest office in the land takes them away from the duties required to fulfill their current responsibilities.

Editorial: Abstain from placing blame
It is no surprise that the recent increase in teen birth rates has given birth to renewed criticism of President Bush and the administration's support of abstinence programs.

Will Leschper: Wingshooting seasons start with bang
CARSON COUNTY - The slight percussion in the distance swelled to a swirling cacophony of resonant honks and wing beats just after the sun peeked above the eastern horizon and cast a light orange hue on the motionless figures in the maze of corn stubble.

Clovis' Roanhaus proud of his squad
CLOVIS, N.M. - Clovis football coach Eric Roanhaus had much on his mind on Saturday, regarding his sons. Chad Roanhaus, coach at Las Vegas Robertson, was seeing his team fall in the New Mexico Class 3A championship, 27-6, to St. Michael's while dad walked the sidelines in Santa Fe.

Wild one in Clovis
CLOVIS, N.M. - A dictionary won't be necessary for Clovis football fans, who discovered the essence of the word heartbreak on Friday night.

Artesia blitzes Goddard for N.M. 4A crown
ARTESIA, N.M. - Artesia quarterback Landry Jones threw seven touchdown passes Saturday to lead the Bulldogs to a 58-31 win against Roswell Goddard for the second straight year, taking their record 26th New Mexico football championship in Class 4A.

Another opportunity
After being eliminated from the playoffs by Idalou the past two seasons, the Canadian Wildcats are taking the field for today's state quarterfinal game hoping the third time is the charm.

Buffs finish strong after big lead fades
West Texas A & M built a 14-point second-half lead, then gave up all but one point of it before pulling away to a 64-53 men's basketball victory Saturday against Northeastern State at Tahlequah, Okla.